Month: May 2015

Banner photo is of King St W and Simcoe in 2015. Photo by K Taylor. The north side of King St. W. between Duncan and Simcoe is one of my favourite blocks in the city. Unlike much of the area around it, this stretch has remained almost wholly untouched since the early 20th century. The five buildings that comprise […]

Banner photo is of 1826 Queen St E in 2015. Photo by K Taylor. Sometime between 1915 and 1918 the west side of 1826 Queen St. E. was dressed up with a large painted sign. It enjoyed only a brief career in advertising before being silenced by its newly built neighbour in 1919. The number 1 is all that […]

Banner photo is of Pilkington Bros. Ltd., 15-31 Mercer St in 2015. Photo by K Taylor. Tucked away on Mercer St., between John and Blue Jays Way, is a healthy specimen of 19th century industrial architecture. This marvelous warehouse was built for the Pilkington Bros. glass company by D. B. Dick in 1895. In 1909, […]

Banner photo is 215 – 219 King St. E. in 1885. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library. 215 – 219 King St. E., South side. Photo by K Taylor. Snuggled between the Patrician Grill and the George Brown Chef’s House is a building beyond paper thin. It’s long gone, but its lines are as visible and strong […]

Banner photo is of 407 Spadina Ave in 2010. Photo by K Taylor. From the early to mid 1890s, a number of small businesses hung their shingle at 407 Spadina. First, a wallpaper hanger named W.H. Cheshire, followed by John Regan’s bakery, a restaurant called Bell and Jolliffe and finally the fascinatingly named American Bamboo and Plating Co. (Bamboo and plating?) But a painter […]

Banner photo is of 1086 Queen W in 2010. Photo by K Taylor. 1086 Queen St. W., North side. Photo by K Taylor. From the turn of the last century, this handsomely bricked trio was home to a host of small businesses: tailors, bakers, jewelers, hardware stores. But one, dating from 1908, has kept a […]

Banner photo is of 708 Queen W in 2010. Photo by K Taylor. In 1901, this was the home of the N.B. Lander Drugstore and a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway Telegraph Company. Just as some drugstore chains today feature a post office, in 1901 you could pick up your camphor oil, buy a cigar and […]